Patient Confidentiality
by xenowriter
Summary: The last mission leaves Drack injured and Lexi on edge.


PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY

Her body clambered down the ladder rungs in haste. Her heart was racing as her blue eyes desperately looked to the direction of the med lab. He said he was fine and it was only a scrape. Though, Celeste saw the blood pouring from the nasty gash. Her mind thought to the horror that her krogan squadmate would bleed out before they were able to transport him back to the Tempest. When they were trying to escape the facility on the moon where they were helping out Sid, she told him to watch out for wraiths. The cloaked bastards were just as difficult to take down as the larger fiends.

The med lab door was still open as Drack's yellow eyes moved her way. There was no heightened alarm to him at all. He was sitting there as if he was simply waiting to be seen for a normal check-up. Lexi had already dressed his wound to stop the bleeding. Drops of blood were splattered all over the ship's floor that were from his wake. "How is he?" Celeste fought the nauseating sensation that struck her head from seeing the blood. Normally, the sight didn't faze her but this was from one of her own teammates. Ones that she was responsible for on each and every mission.

Doing a quick scan of his injured limb with her omni-tool, Dr. T'Perro unscrunched her face. "No damage to the prosthetic. There is a slight ligament tear, but should heal on its own. I gave him a stimulant injection." The asari's eyes stared hard at her patient sitting on the table in front of her. "You will need to limit the use of this arm until it is fully resolved."

Drack shook his head. "A handicap? I don't think so, doc."

"Drack," Celeste interjected as she moved more into the med lab. The krogan responded with a grunt as he shoved off the table.

Lexi crossed her arms. "I told you to fight smart."

He gave a haphazard shrug. "I ran out of ammo. Didn't have time to change clips so I figured a good old fashioned charge would do the trick."

This struck a nerve to Lexi. "Look what it got you." Her voice raised to a level that Celeste never encountered before. Ryder stepped back some seeing her the doctor's body almost shaking with anger even if she was trying to hold it together.

"I'm fine," Drack moved his injured arm slowly and then cracked his neck bones. "You don't need to worry about me.

Lexi opened her mouth to offer a rebuttal but her blue lips quickly closed. Spinning on her heel, she moved towards the opposite side of the room where her terminal was. "If you are done, then I need to finish up my reports. I'll talk later." Her tone was curt and sharp like a serrated blade.

Deciding to give some space to let the tension die down, Celeste motioned for Drack to follow her out of the lab. She had seen Lexi lecture Drack before about his pre-existing conditions and the risk for any serious injury, but she never seen her act like this before. Another puzzle she would have to solve.

Hours later, Celeste moved towards the bridge to plot their coordinates for the next mission. Vetra was at ease knowing that her little sister, Sid, was now safe and promised Ryder that she would be more focused on the tasks at hand. Jaal had stopped Celeste right before they left for the moon and stressed his concern about his siblings taking arms with the Roekaar. He needed to get back to his birth mother to learn more about what transpired. "Ryder?" Her blonde science officer caught her attention over to where she was sitting. "You have a moment?"

"Hmm?" Celeste paused at her post and turned to look down at Suvi.

"I'm a bit worried about Dr. T'Perro. She hasn't been herself since we went to help Vetra's sister. I didn't see her in the mess for dinner."

"She really doesn't talk to me. Maybe she's working on something?" Kallo hopefully chimed in. "The more we get closer to Meridian, the more distant the crew is becoming."

Celeste blinked at the both of them. Was she so distracted by racing from point to point to tie up all loose ends that she didn't realize any change in her crew? Particularly, Lexi? Her mind flashed back to Drack back in the med lab. "Did anyone talk to Drack?"

Kallo frowned. "Oh no. I try to avoid him. I never want to catch a krogan in a bad mood."

Suvi giggled. "Oh, Kallo. You are being silly."

Taking a step back, Celeste moved off the bridge platform. "Kallo, maintain vector and speed. Let me go talk to Lexi before we embark anywhere else."

"Maintaining vector and speed at your command." Kallo repeated back her instruction dutifully as his slender long fingers glided across the console.

Inside the med lab, Celeste found Dr. T'Perro at her desk, her back to the door with her head propped up against her hand. "Unless you're sick, you will have to come back later." She called back to the uninvited guest, not bothering to look back.

"Lexi, can we talk?" Ryder stepped in and allowed the door to shut behind her.

"What about?" Lexi didn't flinch.

"You have been guarded since we got back. Is something bothering you?"

"No."

"Is it Drack?"

There was silence on the other end. Longer than it should be. Celeste knew that was the pressure point and decided to press even more. "What's going on with him?"

"As a doctor, I cannot disclose our conversations. Not even to you, Ryder." Lexi sighed as she put down her data pad and pushed herself away from the desk.

"He's a member of my crew on the ground. I need the truth especially if he's medically unfit for duty." She paused before continuing, "If he's not, then I have to ground him."

The asari's hazel eyes became wide with fear from the statement. "You know taking away combat from a krogan is like a life sentence." She chewed her lip as she picked up her data pad once more.

"I know that krogan who can't fight are basically useless in their eyes," Celeste continued. "I read his psych profile. A pretty dark past."

Lexi narrowed her brow. "Darker than you can imagine." Finally she broke down and exhaled heavily. "Ryder, I care for all my patients. Sometimes, my emotions get the better of me and try to steer my judgment when logic should be the primary choice. Drack…he-…he's different."

"You care for him," Celeste smiled softly at her.

Lexi's mouth gaped open as she looked her way. "Is it obvious?"

Celeste shook her head and walked over to pat her on the shoulder. "Nope. Just figured it out now. I think he needs someone like you to watch out for him."

"His organ redundancy is declining. Implants and prosthetics help him go each day. Severe trauma is very dire no matter the species. Krogan life expectancy from such an event has a higher survival rate, but with him…" A beat. "I cannot say."

"Each mission keeps me on edge. One false move could be the end for me or my entire team. I can understand the fear you may have, especially for him." Celeste's blue eyes searched the room, trying to find the right words to give her. If death came for them in the field, Lexi would find out after the fact. Celeste, on the other hand, would witness first hand if Jaal would fall. A fear that plagued her dreams each and every night. "Have you talked to Drack about how you felt?" She steered the conversation away from the talk of death.

Lexi's tone deteriorated as she moved back to her desk. "He's not interested in a relationship if that is what you mean. He's too stubborn for his own good."

"I'll keep an eye out." Celeste flashed her another smile. "I may be able to reel him in for you and keep him from doing anything else too crazy."

This aroused a chuckle from Lexi. "How do you propose doing that?"

"I know he's close to Kesh. He will want to protect her. After all, if something happens to him, then he will leave her alone on the Nexus with Tann." With a grin, she waved goodbye and turned to leave the lab.

"Ryder?"

"Dr. T'Perro?"

"Thank you for this talk."

"What talk? I know your patient confidentiality policy."


End file.
